june 2012 resource
TRANSCRIPT
Shaping Organizational Excellence
JUNE 2012
Resource
President's message...................2 About this issue............................2Law feature................................3 Transformations everywhere...4 Creating Olympic glory.............5Predictive Modeling...................6
Where were you in '82?.........7-8HRPAD QR codes.............8Board of Directors update............9Mark your calendars..................10Social Media feature..................11David Foot event recap........11
Striving for High Performance
2 · Striving for High Perfomance
Resource - HRPADHRPAD74 Simcoe Street South, Suite 301Oshawa, Ontario L1H 4G6Fax: 905.436.6291 Tel: 905.721.9564Circulation: 750 copies produced four times per year and distributed to all HRPAD members and their rep-resentatives. Articles may not be reproduced without prior written permission. Statements, opinions, and points of view expressed by contributing writers do not necessarily represent those of HRPAD. While care is taken, Resource assumes no responsibility for errors or the return of unsolicited materials. Resource is not responsible for advertising claims made in its pages or inserts. However, we will not knowingly accept for publication, ads, articles, or inserts which contain false statements or that defame others.
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HRPAD Board of Directors
2011 - 2012PRESIDENT
Lee Davies, CHRP
VICE PRESIDENTTracey Starrett, CHRP
TREASURERSean Mitchell, CHRP
DIRECTORSSara Bragg, CHRP
Gary Gannon, CHRP Morgan Kirby, CHRP
Jacqueline McGregor, CHRPTracey Newall, CHRP
Deborah Starzynski, CHRP
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVEEmma Donnelly, UOIT
From the President’s desk:
I am very pleased to provide my thoughts on high performance, the focus of this issue. Consider the words of Henry Ford (Ford Motor Company creator) who, in his time, experienced considerable suc-cess associated with high performance:
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."
HRPA Durham Chapter originally came together in 1982 to inspire the HR profession in Durham Region. As an organization, we have kept together for 30 years, and, through each genera-tion of Board and volunteers, developed our profession in the Durham Region. We continue to work together to achieve success.
The past 12 months were truly a year of excellence. Many of the successes we enjoyed will be highlighted in the Board of Directors report, on page 9 of this issue.
In ending, I will quote Zig Ziglar, a leg-endary motivation and performance trainer with a great name. “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reach-ing for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be." I look forward to HRPA Durham Chapter becoming all that we can be in the future.
Lee Davies President, HRPA Durham Chapter
Shaping Organizational Excellence
About this issueWith the June 2012 Resource e-mag-azine, we stand at the podium of high achievement.
In just a few weeks, the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games will show us individuals and organizations striving for their best performance ever. As homage to this spectacle of the finest athletic achievement, we’re focussing this issue on many aspects of high performance and high achievement—and the factors that contribute to reaching these levels.
Featured articles in this issue delve deeper into the connection between high performance and HR. An article by Michelle Chambers explains the role of an organizational coach in building a great team. Laura Pratt’s article reveals how athletes have tapped into certain
HR tools to increase their chances of gold medal performances. In her legal column, Laura Cassiani shares the con-nection between top athletes and top HR practices.
In addition, we have an update on last issue’s social media story—did the Holiday Campaign produce that new statutory holiday? We also continue our expedition back to 1982, with a look at experiences and achievements of two long-serving chapter members as well as two current board members, includ-ing yours truly.
Tracey Starrett Vice-President & Communications
Committee Chair HRPA Durham Chapter
Striving for high performance… on the heels of a highly successful year
resource: shaping organizational excellence - June 2012 · 3
Elite athletes require coaching, training and practice to achieve success in their chosen sport. Medal-worthy per-formances are preceded by years of hard work, discipline and perseverance. The same is true of success in any workplace, whether that workplace is a track field, an assembly line or an office.
Success in the workplace can be signifi-cantly facilitated and reinforced by the establishment of and adherence to an employee performance management system. A performance management system has direct benefits to the indi-vidual employee and, indirectly, to the broader workplace, through increased productivity and improved morale. Performance management can be a tool to detect chronic and systemic performance-based inefficiencies in the workplace. If implemented properly, it can also serve to weed out chronic un-derperformers and ‘bad apples’, while acknowledging and reinforcing positive performance and conduct.
Effective performance management systems share several fundamental elements.
Clear workplace expectations Elite athletes spend hours researching and studying technique. They know what they need to do to be successful. The same premise is true for success in any other workplace. The cornerstone of an effective performance manage-ment program is the communication of clear, workplace expectations. An employer cannot anticipate an employ-ee’s success if that employee does not know what is expected. Clearly defined and articulated expectations are critical; this includes clear workplace policies on conduct and performance stan-dards, as well as defined job duties and performance standards. The failure to put employees on notice with respect to expectations will undermine
an employer’s ability to effectively discipline or terminate for cause; the exercise of managing performance and conduct is thereby rendered futile.
Regular and consistent enforcement Successful athletes train every day and correct problems in their performance as they arise. The same is required in the workplace. Issues should be ad-dressed with the employee as they occur, whether the conduct warrants informal or formal intervention and regardless of whether the conduct or performance is-sue is major or relatively minor.
Failure to address issues means missed opportunities to educate, refocus or discipline, as the case may be. Annual performance reviews are important, but they should not be a substitute for supervision and management on a daily basis.
Failure to immediately identify and address performance issues and misconduct can foster a false sense of security in the individual employee and can have a negative impact on morale. Depending on the nature of the misconduct, it can lead to a poisoned work environment, have an impact employee safety and result in liability for employers and supervisors.
An employer’s failure to address these issues can be perceived as condoning behaviour, which will undermine an employer’s ability to justify discipline or termination.
Discipline and Corrective ResponsesA performance management program must also encompass elements of both corrective action and discipline. Puni-tive responses do not always constitute an appropriate or a complete response. ...continued on page 4
4 · Striving for High Perfomance
Michelle Chambers, M.Ed., CHRP, CTDP, ORSC-t
Business transformation requires effec-tive leadership and teamwork. Where do you start when a leadership team has had significant historical challenges, is working in silos and the culture is toxic? Consider hiring a team coach. Successful transformation requires leaders to work collaboratively with high levels of trust, effective communication, decision making and common goals.
Team coaching encourages the leader-ship team to work together as a system so that the competencies of each individual are fully maximized. The leverage for higher performance comes from coaching the team as a system (not as individuals), typically in monthly sessions. Chambers and Associates used the Team Diagnostic Instrument to assess positivity and productivity factors with a senior leadership com-munications team to benchmark their current performance and to identify key areas for improvement. Team norms and a future vision were created and an agreement between the team coach and the team was designed.
The role of the team coach is to help reveal the team (as a system) to itself and to reinforce co-responsibility and accountability for the team’s perfor-
mance. The coach pays attention to the energetic field in which the team is operating and assists the team in valu-ing its diversity. Often the coach must listen to the team for potential changes in direction, and support the team by educating and informing its members, as well as instructing them on processes and tools to use. Another key role is to assist the team in increasing its positiv-ity – and reducing negativity. Additional developmental workshops in the areas of decision making, leading change, roles and responsibilities, conflict man-agement were offered to help assist the leadership team in managing and implementing their own transformation.
One year after the journey began, the team was reassessed using the Team Diagnostic Assessment. The team transitioned from a “low positivity, low productivity” team into a high performing team. Goals and strategies saw a 68% improvement with alignment showing a 63% increase and team leadership a 40% increase. With respect to positiv-ity factors, some significant increases were demonstrated in respect (80%), optimism (83%) and constructive interaction (64%). As a result of the journey over the past year, not only did this senior leadership communica-tions team transform itself, but team members successfully supported their entire division through a significant business transformation.
To learn more, join us at the 2013 HRPA conference – Transformations Everywhere! Leadership Team Lessons from the Region of Peel.
Transformations everywhere: leadership lessons from the Region of Peel
...continued from page 3For example, where the element of culpability is absent, some form of corrective action may be the most appropriate response. Corrective action can include informal or formal coaching, counselling and retrain-ing. Misconduct or performance issues that result from a disability raise unique issues and challenges for employers and should always be treated with caution. In some cases, both corrective action and discipline may be appropriate, depending on the nature of the issue.
In other contexts, discipline may be the only appropriate response. This assessment will depend on a weighing of several factors, includ-ing the nature of the conduct that triggered the intervention as well as the employee’s prior record. It will also depend on steps set out in any appli-cable progressive discipline policy.
Getting to the end of a progressive discipline policy does not necessarily mean an employer has met the legal standard to justify a termination for cause or lesser form of discipline. The onus is on the employer to justify employee discipline and, ultimately, a termination; while it is not impos-sible to do, there is a high legal and evidentiary burden to meet. In order to establish ‘just cause’, the employer will have to establish that the employ-ee’s misconduct was of a nature and quality that constitutes a repudiation of the employment relationship.
Performance management is a critical business and HR practice for correcting and improving individual performance and conduct. This gold standard business practice can be your champion to improve morale and overall successin the workplace.
resource: shaping organizational excellence - June 2012 · 5
Creating Olympic glory: a systems approachTracey Starrett, The Starrett Group
Success at the Olympic level depends on interrelated systems as described in Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization (1990). The performance of 2010 Olympic host city Vancouver and Mark Spitz’s 1972 Munich Olympic record demonstrate this from an both organizational and athletic perspective
THE LEARNING ORGANIZATIONIn sport, past achievements and failures facilitate future performance. Being the host city is no exception. Spanning the first modern Olympics in 1896 to Vancouver’s 2010 Games, the Olympic Movement embodies the characteristics of a learning organization.
The Olympic Movement acts as a shared vision, complete with charter, motto, flag, and instantly-recognizable five-ring symbol. The Latin motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius (Swifter, Higher, Stronger) exemplifies a model that permeates all aspects of the Games: continuous improvement is achievable. This extends to the production of the Games themselves. No longer just about athletic events or the entertain-ment value of opening and closing ceremonies, the entire legacy of each new host city has reached new heights.
The achievement of the Vancouver Organizing Committee seems unsur-passable, yet London is promising just that. What may make it possible for London, and each successive host city to continue to excel is the International Olympic Committee’s commitment to knowledge manage-ment and knowledge transfer. In a knowledge-resource called Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) the IOC creates the ability for “future host cities to draw on the knowledge and experience of previous
Games hosts” (Olympics.org, 2012).
BUILDING SHARED VISIONOne of the longest standing Olympic records demonstrates the link between high performance sport and Senge’s systems thinking.
Arnold Spitz put it simply, “Swimming isn’t everything; winning is.” These five words fueled his son’s legendary swim-ming career. Mark Spitz embraced this value and had outstanding achieve-ments. Between 1965 and 1972 (ages 15 to 22), Spitz won nine Olympic gold medals, one silver, and one bronze; five Pan-American golds; 31 National U.S. Amateur Athletic Union titles; eight U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships, and set 33 world records (www.markspitzusa.com).
The most spectacular of those achieve-ments was when at age 22, he won seven gold medals in one Olympics, each setting a world-record time, etch-ing himself into Olympic memory. This had never been achieved before.
PERSONAL MASTERYGenetics and talent play a role in an athlete’s success. While not essential, the right body type, and some genetic advantage create the foundation upon which the talent is honed. Spitz had the classic male swimmer’s body—long, lean, and very supple. He was “able to touch his elbows to the ground without bending his knees” (Sports Illustrated, 1972).
Genetics and talent alone won’t make a champion, but a commitment to personal mastery will. "That was the
point [at age 14] where I really went into swimming for a business, where I decided that I wanted to be good, to be somebody." (Spitz, 1970).
MENTAL MODELSSpitz was on track for six gold medals in Mexico in 1968. He failed to meet those expectations, but continued to believe it was still attainable, despite his detractors. After Mexico, Spitz re-com-mitted himself to his sport and achieved holistic support, encouraging his belief in his potential for the 1972 Olympics. After Munich, other athletes weren’t able to do the same. Spitz’s Olympic record stood unmatched for 36 years, creating a mental model that it was untouchable even into the new millennium.
THE EXTERNAL SYSTEMThe external system contributed to the length of time Spitz’s record stood—and again, to actually knocking him off the proverbial pedestal in 2008.
His feat went unmatched from the1976 Montreal Olympics through boycotted Games in 1980 and 1984, during which many potential record-breakers were not able to compete. At the same time, human performance was experiencing a plateau. “In swimming, performances stagnated in 47% of events after 1990” (LA Times, 2010), begging the question, “Was matching Spitz unattainable?” It was… until Michael Phelps set his sights on eight gold medals in 2008.
Building on Vancouver’s success, and Spitz’s legacy, the performance of Phelps and host city London this sum-mer are poised to reach new heights for their respective systems—no doubt to be emulated in pools and board-rooms worldwide.
“[Spitz’s] legs could hyperextend, the lower part of each bowing back like a double-jointed append-age…. His hands are enormous, like ‘big paddles’” (Sports Illus-trated, 1976).
[People with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them. Senge, 1990]
6 · Striving for High Perfomance
From office to ice: using predictive modeling to get the most from your teamLaura Pratt, a Toronto-based freelance writer
The value of human behavioural assessment has long been appreciated in the business world. Thanks to its deep excavation of the core attributes of individuals’ personalities, this highly functional tool provides unprecedented insight that can help managers to define job positions appropriately, hire for them effectively and strategize for their most suitable integration meaning-fully. But the powers of sophisticated quantitative and statistical analysis and predictive modeling extend well beyond the boardroom.
This is certainly something to which long-distance speed skater Andrew Godbout can attest. Godbout, a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native who represented Canada on the World Cup speed skating circuit in 2008, tapped into his own potential by way of the Predictive Index (PI).
Under the guidance of David Lahey, president of the Whitby-based man-agement consulting firm Predictive Success, Godbout was able to identify those strengths and weaknesses in his personality that had a role to play in his performance on the ice.
Godbout learned, for example, that he’s particularly aggressive and asser-tive—traits that serve him well in his sport. But he’s prone to letting this swell of energy distract him in the lead-up to a race, crowding his all-important strategy to the side and causing him to lose focus—potentially devastat-ing for a competition in which pacing is critical and strategy is everything. With Lahey’s help, however, the skater
has learned to channel these characteristics to his ultimate advantage. Equipped with this new self-awareness, God-bout set about exploiting his aggressive nature to gain an early lead, by tempering it before it burned him out.
“I’m a legitimate contender but this is the first time I’ve been in a high-stress com-petition with so much at stake," Godbout said during a training phase. “Dave is helping me prepare for that situation.”
The results of their work with the PI were massive. God-bout’s training times dropped by eight to 10 percent, and his chanc-es of making the team jumped from zero to 70 percent. Godbout, says Lahey, needed to learn he had to slow down to win races. “De-scribing who he is was helpful.”
The members of the University of Maine’s high-performing men’s ice hockey team also recently enjoyed the benefits of having who they are meticu-lously described via human analytics.
The Black Bears’ head coach Tim Whitehead, who has led his team to six NCAA Tournament appearances, is thrilled with the intimate understanding of his players the PI has afforded him since he first tapped into its compe-tencies in 2008. Appreciative of the college-sports truism that says the only impediment to the fast-paced action upon which successful hockey is built is a lack of communication, he’s applied it to getting his players to work better as a team. More than that, Whitehead has used its learnings to get more from
his players, according to anticipated responses to specific situations. His new understanding of how “each ind-vidual student is wired” has also helped Whitehead to use hockey as leverage to keep them focused on school to
help maintain the minimum grade level required to keep them on the team. Finally, the Black Bears have used the PI to facilitate better com-munication among the differ-ently skilled members of the team’s management staff.
“PI really confirms your in-stincts as a coach,” Whitehead says. “It’s fascinating knowing how our 30 players are broken up into different personalities and how I might connect better with a group of them, while the assistant coach will contact with yet an-other group.” Thanks to this tool, White-head has an enhanced understanding of “which players I can get in their face, and which others to take aside.”
Hockey, says Whitehead, requires re-sults every bit as much as a company does. He’s found PI instrumental in helping him to achieve them. “It’s really made a difference with my staff and our student athletes,” he raves. “The PI is an invaluable tool to any coach, teacher or business leader. It helps in so many ways with every player on your team.”
resource: shaping organizational excellence - June 2012 · 7
We could see his joy as he moved around in his wheelchair and was ushered to the front of the various lines because of his handicap. The trip to the Space Station where a rocket was being prepared for a trip was really exhilarating.
On the return journey, we spent three days in Washington D.C. visiting sites such as the White House, Houses of Congress, the F.B.I. Headquarters, and the Smithsonian Museum. This trip was the most exciting thing that year in terms of the awards the kids won and especially seeing the complete joy of our handicapped son on this trip.
Leyland A. MussMembership Committee Member
PeterIn 1982, I was on the faculty of Durham College, teaching Labour Relations and Introduction to Personnel. I was also working in the Durham Conference Centre, the college's leadership and management development division at that time. We conducted needs assessments with outside or-ganizations, then designed and led professional develop-ment programs for them. This experience inspired me to launch my own consulting and training practice after I left the college.
I was at an interesting point in my career. Before joining Dur-ham College, I had spent eight years in the manufacturing industry of Quebec and Ontario. During that time, I worked in labour relations, right across the table from the United Auto Workers. While this was exciting work, it also proved to be both frustrating and draining. I had then moved to an extremely innovative and forward-thinking, non-unionized Canadian company called Husky Injection Molding Sys-tems. Husky led the way in employee engagement before the term was commonly used. The organization was highly supportive of employee involvement, with an approach that was quite advanced at that time for a manufacturing envi-ronment. As an example, every employee was on salary and we held monthly employee council meetings to discuss ...continued on page 8
leylandIn 1982, I was a member of the Personnel Association of Toronto, which eventually became the Hu-man Resources Professional Asso-ciation of Ontario. I had completed the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies’s Certificate in Personnel and Labour Relations. The programme included courses in Industrial and Labour Relations,
Compensation, and Recruitment and Selection.
As salary administrator for Loblaws Inc., I was responsible for the total salary function. I also recommended and imple-mented a job evaluation programme for all salaried employ-ees in Ontario. Before implementation, I conducted training programmes across the chain for employees to understand what was being implemented and how. I facilitated directors and vice presidents in the evaluation of jobs, and recom-mended a new grade and salary structure.
After performing this implementation, I was asked to imple-ment a similar programme in one of the Loblaws subsidiary companies and acted as an internal consultant to the com-pany and a mentor to the personnel manager.
With my generalist background, I wanted to get back into a generalist role, to continue using a variety of my overall skills and expertise.
My children were very athletic in those days. My daughter played field hockey both for her school and a club. Her school was both the S.S.S.A.A. (Scarborough Secondary Schools) and O.F.S.A.A (Ontario Schools) Field Hockey Champions and her club was the Labatt’s Festival Field Hockey Champion.
My elder son who was afflicted with Muscular Dystrophy and confined to a wheelchair attended Monarch Park Collegiate where his team won the Wheelchair Hockey League Cham-pionship and was he was awarded the Most Outstanding Goalie trophy.
My younger son was involved in all sports at school. How-ever, his crowning achievement that year was winning his weight class in wrestling at the S.S.S.A.A. Wrestling Finals, going on to the O.F.S.A.A. finals where he was runner-up in his weight class.
Based on these achievements, we rented a caravan that sum-mer to go to Disney World and Epcot and the NASA Space Station in Florida to celebrate. It was especially rewarding for our handicapped son whose eyes beamed at all the sights at Disney World and Epcot.
where were you in '82?
8 · Striving for High Perfomance
...continued from page 7
ideas that could make the company a better place to work. I also met with those employee councils to discuss salary adjustments and changes to benefits. After I left Husky, I then set up an HR department in a small (300 employees) but growing, unionized firm that previously did not have an HR support group.
In 1982, I was trying to decide whether to return to a general HR role or continue teaching. I enjoyed teaching the
Labour Relations course as it was for final year students. The Introduction course was not as stimulating; it was designed for first year students, most of whom were only there for a credit!
My memories of that time are of the challenges involved with having three young children at home, and my wife back at school. Perhaps the most significant thing I remember from that year was that we, in Canada, finally repatriated our constitution—a very significant step.
Peter TaylorFormer Chapter President,
Honourary Lifetime Member of HRPAD
Tracey n.In 1982, I was in my third year of mar-riage and working at a large chemical manufacturer in Scarborough as a Customs and Transportation Assis-tant. At that time, HR had not even entered my mind!
My favourite things in 1982 were being married, owning my own home and
attending weddings of friends and family.
Tracey Newall, HRPAD Board Member
Tracey s.In 1982, I was 16 years old and a grade 11 student at St. Jo-seph's Morrow Park, a Catholic all-girls school in North York.
HR wasn't yet on my career horizon, as I was planning to pursue a career in teaching or journalism/broadcasting. I was, however, quite familiar with the work and influence of the ‘personnel department’, thanks to my aunt, Marie O'Donnell who had worked in the field for many years with the Ontario Government. As time went on, my university minor in history led me to labour relations courses and, ultimately, fuelled a desire to explore that aspect of human resources as a career. Interestingly, through pursuing a career in HR, I have enjoyed the opportunity to teach and write, all as part of the depth and richness of this field.
My favourite thing about 1982 was meeting my future hus-band at my cousin's wedding!
Tracey Starrett, Communications Chair
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where were you in '82?
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resource: shaping organizational excellence - June 2012 · 9
CONTESTJoin us at the 30th Anniversary celebration on June 21st for your chance to win one of two full-year passports to the Dur-ham Chapter events!Congratulations to Hazel Craig of UOIT. She was the lucky winner of our Facebook 'Like Us' Contest. Hazel will receive a $25 restaurant gift card.
The 2011-2012 membership year was filled with numerous achievements for the HRPAD Board of Directors, all aimed at reaching higher levels of performance.
Of note, the board worked hard to come up with a viable strategic plan. We realized the necessity of identify-ing goals that matched our available resources, that were important to moving the Vision for our Chapter forward and were consistent with the goals of the Provincial Association.
In addition, the Board Governance education program was launched at our April Board meeting. This excit-ing development will strengthen the Board and volunteers, moving us toward even better performance in the future.
Benefit to hrPAd membersThrough our review of our finances and focus on wise spending we have provided more value to our members. Notable achievements this year in-clude the excellent event at which David Foot, author of Boom, Bust and Echo described the impact of changing demographics on the HR profession, our community and each one of us.
We’ve also embraced technology through webinars for our members who are so much on the move that we need to expand from traditional presentation formats. Our high perfor-mance continues with the wonderful, new design and Internet-based ap-proach to sharing information through this e-magazine.
Membership has grown—we’re the 9th largest chapter in the province—and our mentorship program now in its second year, with new approaches that not only embrace technology, but create a more flexible way for members to participate.
Once again, HRPAD recognized the achievements of our Chapter members who received their CHRP this year. We also continue to invest in the future by providing scholarships to students at both UOIT and Durham College.
For a complete review of the past year’s achievements please see our Annual Business Meeting Report, from the ABM held on May 18, 2012.
Lee Davies President
HRPA Durham Chapter
BOARD OF DIRECTORS UPDATE
DRPA
HRPAD 2012
1982 to
High PerformersSecretariat’s 1973 Belmont Stakes finish time. This record still stands.
Roberto Alomar's Golden Glove Awards—most ever for a second baseman.
Best place finish by a Jamaican bobsled team in the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Steffi Graf’s major single’s titles—most in Open Era (since 1968).
Wilt Chamberlain’s high scor-ing game in March 1962—most points ever.
Number of kilometres Terry Fox ran in 143 days of the Marathon of Hope, 1980.
10 · Striving for High Perfomance
Mark Your Calendars!
The HRPA Durham Chapter presents
events to help you meet and net-
work with other Human Resources
professionals while you learn
something new. Your participa-
tion in certain events also helps
you earn re-certification points.
Watch this page of the Resource
e-magazine to learn about ongoing
and upcoming events – and don’t
forget to mark your calendars.
Fall NKE • Exam date: Saturday October 13, 2012
• Deadline to Register: August 7, 2012
• For more details visit the HRPAD website.
Evening Academic Program• Fall 2012 Registration
is now open!
• Registration deadline: September 7, 2012
• More information found on the HRPAD website
Online Academic Program• Fall Semester flexible start dates:
Sept 4 through 17
• Deadline to Register: September 17, 2012
• More information found on the HRPAD website
HR Horror Stories Contest
through HRPA
Win a Trip for two to Orlando or Las Vegas! Entry Deadline: July 6, 2012
Oh... the horror!!!
Rebecca Lauzon and Peter Spratt
at the David Foot event.
resource: shaping organizational excellence - June 2012 · 11
Truth behind Facebook Holiday Campaign revealed By Tracey Starrett, The Starrett Group
Bad news, Canadians. It seems there won’t be a new statutory holiday after all (see page 11 of our March issue).The skeptics were right. There was an organization behind the marketing initiative, and its motives had nothing to do with giving Canadians another day off work.
The Holiday Initiative was designed as part of a case study by the Out-of-Home Marketing Association of Canada.
The study ran in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal for a period of five weeks this past winter, generating interesting statistics across three provinces.
While the study findings were most relevant to the Out-of-Home Market-ing Association, they were not without interest to HR practitioners. Here are some examples of what was learned:
• There are fewer smartphone users in Montreal (26%) than in Toronto (44%) and Vancouver (52%). Recent HR focus on developing smartphone policies should therefore be a greater priority in Toronto and Vancouver than in Montreal.
• Montreal Internet users produced more traffic on the Facebook page and the most ‘Likes’, 625 compared to English Canada’s 618. Does this mean that Montrealers use Face-book more than Torontonians and Vancouverites, or are they just more interested in getting another day off? Further investigation is required.
• The Association’s target demographic was 18 to 24 year-olds—those who, according to David Foot, can benefit
the workforce with their interest in and enjoyment of new and emerging technologies.
On a final note, the Out-of-Home Marketing Association did use the cam-paign results in a small step towards its supposed raison d’être. Sources reveal that “the petition was given to [the] three heads of the provincial governments.” (Fortin, 2012). Although another new holiday may be out of the question for Toronto and Vancouver, Montreal might just have a shot.
Boom, Bust and, Echo recapDid you miss our dinner event this March with demographer and economist David Foot? Or were you there without your trusty notepad?
Read a detailed recap of the event, prepared especially for our members.
social media: one to Watch
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12 · Striving for High Perfomance
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OUR NEXT issUe:Forensic HRWe’ll go behind the scenes to the world of private investigations, evidence collection, and forensic analysis to see how these fields are integrated into everyday HR!
Submission deadline for our next issue is August 1, 2012Publication date: September 15, 2012Contact: Tracey Starrett with your stories, submissions, or to advertise in this issue.
Welcome Summer!All hyperlinks and email addresses referenced in this document can be found in the
electronic version of our magazine. www.icsolutionsdesign.com/hrpad_june12